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Monday, 22 September 2014

Dressing For Men

I have to say when I'm throwing my clothes on in the morning, the absolute last thing on my mind is whether a man is going to like the jeans that I've picked; I am certainly not consciously dressing for anyone except myself. Having said that, I am often guilty of throwing my jeans onto a discard pile because I wonder what people will think of my less than tanned expanse of ankle, or swapping skirts because I think the first one is a little too short. A quote on tumblr recently got me thinking, and although I can't find it again to quote it entirely, I believe it went something along the lines of "If women dressed for men, they would spend their entire lives naked."

It got me thinking though, because no matter how I look at it I can't help but think that at least on some level, actually we are all dressing for men. Isn't it hardwired into our DNA? We dress the way our father's want us to, I have lost count of the amount of dresses I have put back on the shelves whilst shopping because I could imagine the horror on my Dad's face if I were ever to wear them. We grow into teenaged girls who almost subconsciously buy heels to make our legs appear longer in the skin tight skirts we pick to go to clubs on nights out, and who are we dressing for if not the men we want to admire us, even if we have no desire for them; I know I'm guilty of doing it and I'm certainly not striving to find a male partner any time soon. There is no denying that although there's no way we like to be objectified, someone's eyes lingering on you that bit too long is flattering, exhilarating, and above all? A sign you've done something right when you've gotten ready this morning.

So what about those of you who say you aren't dressing for men? What about the fact that when I thought about this quote I defiantly picked my hoodie and mom jeans to wear out as an act of rebellion? Well aren't I still realistically dressing for men? In the very act of rebelling against what I imagine that they traditionally want, am I not still dressing for them?

In fact, aren't some of the biggest days of our lives going to be shrouded by the tradition of dressing for men? Irregardless of whether I end up marrying a woman, it's highly likely I'll be wearing white. Wearing white because, of course, traditionally this is something that women did to prove virginity to the men that they were marrying. That isn't to say it's a bad thing, and contrary to the gifs above I believe self-respecting women are well within their rights to dress, or not dress, for whomever they feel comfortable, but the fact is, it's inescapable that at least on some level, we are all dressing for men.